My journey from a technical and strict discipline of forensic and composite art to fine art. I'm trying to unfurl my wings to fly into this new field but I'm still struggling to get out of my cocoon!
"To be an artist is to believe in life."
-Henry Moore (1898-1986)

Friday, February 13, 2009

Creative konk on the head

If you saw Wednesday's posted video on Elizabeth Gilbert's new way of thinking of creativity, you'll know what I'm talking about when she described how different people get their creative ideas. I especially love the description of the poet who felt the poem come at her like a thundering train and she would run to get paper and pencil before the poem barreled through her and left her forever.

Gilbert also told us not to be so hard on ourselves. That not every creative idea is going to be great. So I decided to embrace that philosophy.

My ideas come to me in dreams or as if an apple fell from a tree and konks me on the head. Depending on what I'm doing, I'll either look at it briefly while I continue to do what I need to do or I'll pick it up and examine it to see what I can do with it. Do I take the time to peel, season and bake it in a pie or do I just go ahead and take a big bite of it.

My elephant ballerina painting was one idea. Here's one that came to me last night. I have no clue what it means but it is what I saw in my mind's eye.

12 comments:

Very nice. Looks like seeds bursting forth from a plant floating in a pot. Hmmmm....let's see...the dream must be indicating a regenerative process coming forth from the unconscious mind!!! Always fun to try interpreting.

I think it's a new leaf, but there's a bit of a cloud around it so we can't see all the details yet.

BTW, you're the Sheila I mentioned in my post today and I added a link to you in my blogroll too. I would have tagged you, but you just got tagged a very short time ago by somebody else, so I figured I'd give you a break!!

You were transplanted from a bigger plant but you are now growing on your own as a young plant. There is still some obstacles around you but they will dissipate in time, the sun still hasn't the true color it usually has for you but it will if you seek you will find. Your tender roots are protected until you grow stronger. In all you do there is a reflection to others of what you do. You are an example to many.Blessing Sheila.

Lovely to see how your ideas emerge! Maybe its about nature and life with the blue sky, sun and clouds. The water is also symbolic of life that we all must have. The leaf represents you, your growth as an artist, and theres only one direction a leaf can go in this climate...Just a thought:0)

Guess I'm more pedestrian: my ideas usually float in to my head as a key phrase or sentence. Rarely more than that, but they spark a series of other phrases or sentences and I then have the skeleton of something or other. I loved the train story, though.

LOL I thought my ears were burnin' oh the pressure lol Ok vegetation is life and this one is especially impressive because it's a healthy happy green. You are still not quite centered but being that you are such a strong fighter, you are able to interpret your own brand of being centered and finding your beauty through all your challenges and whatever situation dealt to you not by choice. Though still not feeling solid and actually feeling a little unsheltered and vulnerable, you draw strength from positive support and energy around you. You are very strong and very intelligent, which makes you powerful and you have all it takes to be successful! signed: Sister Erika, PP

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About Me

I was born in San Francisco but my father moved me and my mom to Japan when I was 11 months old. There he helped set up the new Army HDQRS after WWII. I stayed in Japan until I was 18 and moved back to California to attend college. I have lived in several cities in the Bay Area since then. I was a police officer for 26 years retiring as a Sergeant a few years ago. I was pretty successful as a Forensic Artist and the composite drawings I used to do to help catch crooks and other bad folks. Now that I'm retired, I am trying to catch up and access all that fun and fine art I've missed out on. After seeing all that darkness, I always look for the light in people and situations.